Introduction:Oatly, the oat milk brand, released its Q3 2024 financial report, achieving profitability targets across all three major global regions with total revenue reaching $208 million, a year-on-year increase of 10.9%. Notably, the Greater China region delivered outstanding performance, with revenue growing 13.7% year-on-year to $29.1 million and turning profitable for the first time, with over 70% of sales contributed by the foodservice channel. This article analyzes its growth drivers and reveals new developments in collaborations with chain coffee brands.
The global oat milk leader Oatly recently published its Q3 2024 financial report, showing steady expansion of its global business with all three core regions successfully meeting their targeted profitability goals. The total operating revenue for the quarter was$208 million, an increase of10.9%compared to the same period in 2023, or9.6%when calculated at constant exchange rates, with stable upward trends in sales volume across all product lines.
Of particular note is the Greater China market, which achieved$29.1 millionin revenue for the quarter, a significant rise from$25.6 millionin the same period last year, marking growth of13.7%, and successfully crossing the break-even point to become profitable. A deeper analysis of the growth structure shows that the contribution from the foodservice channel increased significantly from68%to72%compared to the previous year, becoming the main driving force. This shift is primarily due to an active strategy to develop new foodservice customers.
Since entering the Chinese market in 2018, Oatly has continuously reinforced its brand positioning as a “coffee companion,” establishing deep partnerships with multiple chain coffee brands. According to statistics, between 2018 and 2023, Oatly’s oat milk ingredients were used to prepare over1 billioncups of oat lattes. In Q3 of this year, key partners launched more than ten new products based on Oatly oat milk, further solidifying its market position.
In terms of global market distribution, revenue from Europe and international markets for the quarter was$109.9 million, an increase of$6.3 million (6.1%)compared to the same period last year. Excluding the impact of$2.1 millionin foreign exchange gains, the real growth was4.0%. Growth in this region was mainly driven by increased demand for BARISTA professional-grade oat milk and ambient products in mature markets, as well as continued development in emerging markets.
The North American market also performed strongly, with quarterly revenue reaching$69.1 million, up from$58.5 millionin the same period last year, a growth of18.1% ($10.6 million). This was mainly thanks to the expansion of the distribution network and the promotion of new product lines, which drove simultaneous sales growth in both retail and foodservice channels. Notably, about52%of revenue in this region came from retail channels, a slight decrease of1 percentage pointcompared to the same period last year.
Oatly CEO Jean-Christophe Flatin stated during the earnings call: “Achieving profitability targets across all three regions is an important milestone. While there is still work to be done, it proves that our strategic direction is correct.” He particularly emphasized the significance of the Greater China region turning profitable.
Industry analysts pointed out that the growing demand among Chinese consumers for healthy beverages, coupled with increasing awareness of oat milk products, has created a favorable market environment for Oatly. By forming deep partnerships with chain coffee shops, the brand has successfully integrated oat milk into everyday consumption scenarios, especially during breakfast and office hours, a strategy that has significantly boosted product penetration.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
